Ariana Grande wasn’t physically hurt when a fan jumped a barricade at the “Wicked: For Good” premiere in Singapore Thursday and tried to wrap his arm around her.
But Grande looked visibly shaken, and a source told the Daily Mail that the incident triggered the post-traumatic stress disorder she dealt with after a terrorist’s bomb exploded at the end of her May 2017 concert at the Manchester Arena in the United Kingdom. The suicide bombing killed 22 people and injured more than 1000.
The Daily Mail source noted that the singer and actor has “never been the same since” the Manchester bombing. The actions of this fan also have renewed concerns about Grande’s security, which was already heavy following the bombing, the Daily Mail said.
According to video shared across social media, Grande and her “Wicked” co-stars, Cynthia Erivo, Michelle Yeoh and Jeff Goldblum, were walking hand-in-hand down a yellow carpet at the premiere, with barricades on either side holding back excited fans. Grande was on the far right end. After she blew kisses to people on her right, a man jumped the barricade from the left side, ran up, wrapped his arm around her and jumped up and down.
His attack was stopped by Erivo, who quickly moved in and pulled the man off her friend. Bodyguards also jumped in, surrounding Grande and taking the man away while Erivo and Yeoh comforted her. Grande continued to move forward, while people on the side yelled to her, “Ariana, are you OK? Are you OK?”
The fan identified himself on Instagram as Johnson Wen. Using the the pseudonym “Pyjama Mann,” he describes himself as the “troll most hated” and has posted videos of himself at sporting events or concerts, breaking through security to rush onto a field or a stage to get close to stars such The Weeknd, Katy Perry and The Chainsmokers.
E! News reported that he was arrested after he accosted Grande, but that he boasted that he was later released. He also shared a video of himself rushing Grande, captioning the clip, “Dear Ariana Grande, Thank You for letting me Jump on the Yellow Carpet with You.”
A number of people blasted him in response, with one saying, “Are you happy now? Does it bring you joy to disturb celebrities? That’s sad.”
The Daily Mail source confirmed that Wen’s attack was upsetting to Grande. “Ariana has been trying to soothe herself because her mind automatically jumps to the darkest possibilities,” the source said. “When someone suddenly approaches or charges at her, it triggers her … almost like PTSD, as her mind immediately goes to the worst-case scenario.”
Following the Manchester bombing, Grande “wanted to quit everything and become a hermit,” the source told the Daily Mail. While she never wanted to take focus away from the people who died or were injured, she “was a victim, too,” and still deals with the repercussions. The suicide attack was orchestrated by an Islamic extremist and was the deadliest act of terrorism in the United Kingdom since the the London bombings in 2005.
Grande acknowledged struggling with PTSD in a 2018 interview with British Vogue. ‘It’s hard to talk about because so many people have suffered such a severe, tremendous loss … I feel like I shouldn’t even be talking about my own experience – like I shouldn’t even say anything. I don’t think I’ll ever know how to talk about it and not cry.”